Summer Crafting with Mollie Makes

Monday, 28th July 2014

Here at White Stuff we love all things arts and crafts. Our friends at Mollie Makes magazine have shared with us two great summer crafting ideas. Give them a go and share your creations on our social channels using #followyourfeet

Flower Crowns

Karin Kirsten's flower crowns are perfect for creating your festival look, for a party or just to wear around the house!

All you need to create your flower crown is:

a selection of artificial flowers

florist tape and some thin florist wire

rustic vine wire

measuring tape

glue gun and glue sticks

scissors and pliers

The great thing about this design is you can customise it with your choice of artificial flowers and go as big as you like.

Steps:

Step 1 : Use your pliers to cut three equal pieces of rustic vine wire, each approx. 60cm (24") long. If you’re using garden wire, be sure to wrap the wire with florist tape before moving on to Step 2.

Step 2: Gather the ends of the vine wire and secure by wrapping a piece of thin florist wire around them. Then fasten by wrapping florist tape over the top. Use the pliers as much as possible to wrap your wires, ensuring it’s secure.

Step 3: Braid the vine wire, starting with the secured end, all the way to the end and connect together the ends again as you did in Step 2.

Step 4: Now attach the ends of the wire to form a circle. Measure around your head to make sure you get the sizing right first – don’t make your base too tight as it needs to sit comfortably on your head.

Step 5: Once your circle is the correct size, secure the ends of the loop structure with thin florist wire, then florist tape, using your pliers to secure. You now have the round base ready to attach your flowers.

Step 6: Now for the fun part. First, arrange your flowers in order so you can see what works best before attaching them. Once you've decided on a design, start attaching them to the base one-by-one using the hot glue gun. The glue will dry very fast so use a small amount, attach the flower quickly and hold it in position until it dries. You can now fill your wire base all the way around with your artificial flowers.

Step 7: Once all of your flowers are securely attached to the base, tidy up your crown by attaching the silk green leaves on the inside so that no glue is visible. Glue them one-by-one all the way round on the inside of the flower crown.

Step 8: enjoy your finished flower crown!

Nail Art!

Daniela Fugger’s colourful pieces are an easy way to brighten up your home; simply choose a word and some colourful yarn and get crafting! All you need is a few basic materials:

Piece of wood

Text of your choice printed out on paper

Around150 nails, 2.5mm thick

Yarn or thread in varying colours

Strong tape

Hammer

This is a no fuss design and you will probably have very few items to go out and buy. It’s so simple, you could make one for every occasion – a fun sign at the kids birthday party, wedding plaques or something for the home. Here’s all you need to know to make yours:

Step 1: You can either use a Mollie Makes template or draw out your own text onto paper. Secure this onto your wooden surface using strips of strong tape.

Step 2: Prepare your wood by taking the hammer and a nail and punching little marks every 4–5mm along the outline of each letter. Make sure there's a mark at every bend.

Step 3: Remove the text, and then hammer your nails into the marks you created in the previous step. Leave about two thirds of each nail above the surface, and make sure they're all tight and sturdy.

Step 4: Take your first colour yarn and fix it at the end of one nail with a knot. Then wrap the yarn around the outlines of the 'C' and the 'R', winding it around each nail. Be careful to keep the yarn taut at all times to keep it neat.

Step 5: Now zigzag around the nails with the yarn, filling the space between the outlines. As we're creating a gradient, fill the 'C' and half of 'R' completely, then fill the second half and the 'E' with less of the yarn so that you can wrap the next colour between it.

Step 6: Lay the next colour over the one you worked with before so you get the effect of a gradient, working in the same way as steps 4 and 5. Then do the same with your third, final colour.

Step 7: Finally, knot the yarn to a nail at the end. Don't worry if a few nails come loose, fix with a light hammer blow.